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For most of my life I was pretty miserable. There were good reasons for that: alcoholic parents, serious illness and rather a lot of poverty, among other things.

So I started meditating. That helped, after a while (quite a while, though many people get faster results.)

One of the things that came up is that bad emotions are, well, bad. By “bad” I mean, emotions that are unpleasant. There’s a lot of advice around emotions, and negative emotions aren’t 100% evil or anything. Anger tells you something is unacceptable; hatred that someone is a long term threat and so on. Now emotions aren’t always right, you can be angry inappropriately. You can hate people who aren’t a threat (Nazis hating Jews) or who are only a threat because of how you treat them (Israeli Zionists and Palestinians), and so on.

Jim Brown was a monster, not only as a wrecking-ball running back on the football field but also as a prime example of an ever more popular obsession with people (mostly men) whose admirable achievements are shaded by despicable behavior (mostly directed at women). He died last month at 87 and his obituaries, along with various appraisals of his life, tended to treat the bad stuff as an inevitable, if unfortunate, expression of the same fierce intensity that made him such a formidable football player and civil rights activist. Often missed, however, was something no less important: what a significant figure he was in the progress of the Black athlete from exploited gladiator — enslaved men were the first pro... Read more

Source: Life on the Run appeared first on TomDispatch.com.

Trumpism has come to this “When Democrats control the House we pass the laws—when Republicans control, what do we get? We get stupid stuff like this dumb hearing,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). Lieu appeared with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes after Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on special counsel John Durham’ report on his investigation into the F.B.I.’s investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election. (If you have to read that again, I’ll wait.) And what did Durham find after four years? CNN summarizes, “that the FBI should have only launched a preliminary, but not full, investigation into connections between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia during the 2016 election.” A New York Post editorial considers that “gross FBI and Justice Department malfeasance.” Democrats on the committee consider the Durham report, which did not dispute Robert Mueller’s conclusions (and multiple convictions) surrounding 2016 Russian interference, a frivolous waste of time.

Sure, Benihana has over 110 locations worldwide, but I know most are not in the basement of a two-thousand-square-foot single-family suburban home. I’ve personally visited Benihana in the past—on a DATE, Brian, because I had other romantic partners before we met—but that particular location did not have a two-car garage or a novelty mailbox in the shape of a fish, although I suppose it would reflect the restaurant’s delicious sushi menu. That’s just sensible branding, Brian. Benihana is more than great teppanyaki.

I remember walking through this house with the real estate agent three years ago. We definitely discussed the UNFINISHED basement. I even walked into a cobweb, Brian. You laughed affectionately and called me your “little mummy.” I also remember later that night when I playfully chased you, going, “Currrse, CURRRSE.”

I’ll tell you what I don’t remember: A discussion about a basement restaurant featuring ten teppan-style griddle tables, each with comfortable seating for eight people.

There are fears that foreign powers can use proxies to channel cash into UK political parties

Far right groups have infiltrated anti-LGBTQ+ protests, and are influencing government policy a new report reveals

For World Refugee Day to matter, it must address the root causes of such complex and ongoing problems. Only an honest and deep understanding can serve as a starting point for a meaningful conversation and, hopefully, meaningful actions.

The post The Irony of World Refugee Day: Celebrating, then Blaming the Victims appeared first on MintPress News.

The political and media firestorm over a school girl claiming to identify as a cat, turns out to be a story 'too good to check'. Byline Times has spoken to a witness

David interviews the director, musician, and activist Boots Riley about social justice and his new show “I’m A Virgo.”

The perilous journey of one ‘freedom swimmer’ – along a route traversed by 2 million others – from China to Hong Kong

- by Aeon Video

Watch at Aeon

“It’s wild how little of what’s happening is being chronicled.”

The post Ukraine Blocks Journalists From Front Lines With Escalating Censorship appeared first on The Intercept.

What strikes someone with BDD as a glaring physical problem actually calls for a psychological solution

- by Toni Pikoos

Read at Psyche

In historical archives, we came across many people who had helped create international systems and strategies to enhance the scale and power of corporate empires. They included the German banker Hermann Abs, who travelled around the world to rally support for his idea for a new global ‘Capitalist Magna Carta’ and justice system to enforce […]

COVID-19 spurred a wave of retirements. Though the effects of the pandemic have subsided, the number of retirees remains well above what would have been expected from socioeconomic trends.

My early academic work was on the Phillips curve and the precision in estimating the concept of a natural rate of unemployment, or the rate of unemployment where inflation stabilises at some level. This rate is now commonly referred to as the Non-Accelerating-Rate-of-Unemployment (NAIRU) and my contribution was one of the first studies to show…

Keir Starmer has closed-off policy-making and refuses to engage with critical voices, writes a Labour peer

Madon pekar på det bisarra att inte så få som kallar sig antirasister gör en halsbrytande manöver när de faktiskt förespråkar ökad rassegregation. Man vill ha särskilda ”rum” dit bara de med rätt etnicitet har tillträde, man vill att svarta patienter bara skall vårdas av svarta läkare och sjuksköterskor, man vill att bara svarta musiker […]

Millions of workers are being pushed into poverty by the surging cost of living, yet the Albanese government does nothing.

The post Editorial: Rate rises and cost of living bite but Albanese does nothing appeared first on Solidarity Online.

Governments across the country are targeting climate activists with draconian anti-protest laws, at a time when climate protest is desperately needed.

The post Governments back fossil fuel criminals with attack on right to protest appeared first on Solidarity Online.

You think it's FUNNY when unimaginably rich people die in incredibly ironic ways?

Be very afraid. The future is coming!

Experts were concerned about OceanGate years before its sub vanished.

The Labor government has been talking up its commitment to women’s rights since it came to power.

The post Labor falling short on women’s equality and wages appeared first on Solidarity Online.